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The Open Door
The Open Door is Evanescence's second studio album and third album overall. It was released on September 30, 2006, in Australia and Italy, October 2, 2006, in Europe and October 3, 2006, in North America. Background and development Amy revealed in an interview with MTV News in December 2003 that once the Fallen Tour ends, they are ready to go back to the studio. She also said that everybody will be going to their home to write new material, and then they will regroup and see what can be done with the material. She said in another interview in November 2004 that she writes by herself first, and she then shows the material to the people she's working with. Recording of the album began in September 2005. The writing and recording of the album was slow for several reasons, including Terry suffering a stroke in November 2005, the loss of Amy's former manager, which was reported as being sued by her for "financial and sexual misconduct", and Will Boyd leaving the band, which Amy told the fans about on EvBoard in July 2006. Amy revealed that with Fallen, some of the songs sounded like she "was trying to prove herself and establish what they were and their sound". She further said, "I was trapped having to feel a certain way. But with the new record, I sort of went with everything. I am not afraid to feel happy sometimes, and I think there's moments on the album with sensuality, which is really fun and beautiful, instead of the last time, where I felt like I was only getting out part of me. This record embraces the whole me". On June 2006 (four months before the album's release), Amy posted this on EvBoard.com: "I hope you all love the record, I know I do, but just one tip about it- each song really has a life of its own. It would be impossible to judge the record on one song alone. Some are much heavier than we've ever been before, some more soulful, some more fun- the only word that really describes all of them is "more." ...as I'm reading this I still think its all meaningless without hearing the album. Just be open minded, because I wasn't aiming to give people what they expect." Title and concept Amy referred to the album's title during an interview: Singles Evanescence - Call Me When Your Sober.jpg| Call Me When You're Sober Evanescence - Lithium.jpg| Lithium Evanescence - Sweet Sacrifice.jpg| Sweet Sacrifice Evanescence - Good Enough.jpg| Good Enough "Call Me When You're Sober" was first released as a digital single on August 15, 2006. A CD single was later released in September. The song went on to peak at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Internationally, "Call Me When You're Sober" peaked in the top 10 in 12 countries, including Canada and the UK. An accompanying music video directed by Marc Webb, filmed in Hollywood, California and was released on August 7, 2006. "Lithium" was released digitally on December 8, and a CD single was later released in the UK on January 8, 2007. An accompanying music video was directed by Paul Fedor and released in late November. The third single off the album, "Sweet Sacrifice", was released physically on May 25, 2007 to Germany only. Physical releases elsewhere were scheduled for May 8, but the shipments were cancelled. The accompanying music video was directed P. R. Brownand released on April 5. "Weight of the World" was released as a radio single to the country of Colombia only in October 2007. "Good Enough" was originally supposed to be released on November 16, but it was pushed to December 14. The single was later cancelled. The song didn't reach any music charts. An accompanying music video, directed by Mark Webb and Rich Lee, was released on September 10. Critical Reception The Open Door received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on twelve reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". IGN music reviewer Ed Thompson felt that "The Open Door is everything that you could ever want in a follow-up album—and more" and added that despite Moody's exit from the band, the remaining members "have not missed a beat." Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five and said, "When the pain takes over her corseted soul, she just overdubs her big bodice-ripping voice into a choir." Additionally, he added that the "best songs are the creepiest", and concluded; "Obviously, Lee has got a touch of the magnetic and destructive herself. But that's what makes the breakup songs on The Open Door feel mighty real." Jon Dolan of Entertainment Weekly explained the record is "more personal and, by accessing a deeper emotional palette, maybe even more universal". Blender gave a positive review, confessing, "Denser and more scuzzed-up than Fallen, the album amps everything up to gloriously epic, over-the-top proportions". Billboard said, "Those who embraced Fallen will doubtlessly fall even harder into The Open Door." Spin's Mellisa Maerz rated the album with four stars out of five and commented, "A post-dysfunctional kiss-off that builds from ethereal Sunday-mass uplift into full-eff-you guitar dirges, revealing an angrier, more self-assured Lee who waxes sardonic but still misses the comfort in being sad". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic wrote that "The Open Door is a muddle of affections. Sonically, however, it captures the Evanescence mythos better and more consistently than the first album - after all, Lee now has no apologies of being the thinking man's nu-metal chick, now that she's a star". Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times called the album "less fun", and said some of the songs are similar to each other. St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Sara Berry critiqued, "Evanescence's sound remains essentially the same: the strange but amicable marriage of churning guitar riffs to lead singer Amy Lee's silky soprano". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe called the album a 45-minute "romantic piece" and said, "if album featured more open-throated crooning and less teeth-gritting anger it would be a much more interesting record". She also added that the sound of the album gets "black and blacker" and, "Lyrics tend toward repetition of words like 'darkness,' 'haunting,' and 'rage'". Christa Titus of Billboard called it a "far more nuanced, moody and richly textured effort" than Fallen. Postmedia News gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying, "While it's similar in style and sound to its predecessor, The Open Door loses the punchy power rifts and instead persuades the listener with piano and airy vocals". Andre Farias of Christianity Today admitted that "The sound is loud, yes, but it's almost indistinguishable from its predecessor—a disappointment considering the opus was nearly three-and-a-half years in the making". Commercial performance The Open Door debuted at number one in the United States, Australia, Germany, Greece and Switzerland, and charted in the top five in Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom. On the US Billboard 200, The Open Door debuted at number one, selling over 447,000 copies in its first week and becoming the 700th album to top the chart. Additionally, the record opened at the top position on the Rock Albums chart and at number two on the Digital Albums. Two weeks after its availability in the United States, the album sold approximately 725,000 copies, and was initially certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 8, 2006. The Open Door became the 38th best-selling album of 2006 in the U.S.; it was the 52nd best-selling album for 2007. On June 24, 2009, the album was awarded double Platinum certification. On the UK Albums Chart, The Open Door debuted and peaked at number two on October 14, 2011. It was the United Kingdom's 81st best-selling album for 2006. In Canada, the album debuted at number two, selling over 43,000 copies in its first week. It was later certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. In Australia and New Zealand, the album peaked at numbers one and two, respectively. It was later certified double-Platinum by the ARIA and Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. As of June 10, 2008, The Open Door had sold nearly two million copies in the United States. As of October 2011, total sales in that territory have been brought to 2.1 million units, and an additional of two million copies worldwide. Track Listing iTunes pre-order bonus track B-Sides Gallery TOD front back.jpg TOD 2.jpg TOD 11.jpg Category:Albums Category:The Open Door Category:General Information